1
The Smartphone AR Era Is Here

Thanks to the iPhone X and the emergence of more accessible AR development tools such as Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore, smartphone-based AR is poised to evolve beyond fads like Pokemon Go and Snapchat facial filters. Creating increasingly realistic AR experiences will become an everyday reality for mobile users.

"Over a billion smartphone users will likely create AR content at least once in 2018, with at least 300 million doing so monthly, and tens of millions weekly."—Deloitte's 2018 Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Predictions Report

2
AR Will Replace Manuals, Tie Into IoT

"The value of AR will grow exponentially as the IoT proliferates. As IoT data continues to grow exponentially, so too does the power of AR, as it allows us to leverage and interpret that information. AR serves as the bridge between the physical and digital worlds, opening up our ability to take advantage of the torrent of information and insights produced by billions of smart, connected products worldwide... AR will [also] continue to supplement or replace traditional manuals, brochures and training documents at an ever-faster pace. By implementing AR technology, companies will see a dramatic positive impact on the productivity and quality of procedures, especially in manufacturing."—PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann

3
Mixed Reality Will Take Over

"Like many, we believe that mixed reality—including augmented reality, virtual reality, and everything in between—represents the next frontier of computing. As you may have heard from Alex Kipman at the Windows Mixed Reality event on October 3, we believe that communication will be a prominent feature in VR's near-term growth. Our recent acquisition of AltSpaceVR is a reinforcement of this belief, and we are just getting started.

"In addition, with interoperability being a core tenet of Windows Mixed Reality, we expect to see more shared experiences between a variety of device types and form factors across the platform in both consumer and enterprise use cases. While we are just beginning the journey, with the innovation and creativity that we continue to see in mixed reality—from Microsoft and from others—we believe that the space will continue to grow into the next secular trend for technology."—Microsoft spokesperson

4
A New Age of Product Design

"As teams become more globally distributed, it can sometimes be difficult to get everyone involved to review a product design in a timely manner, collect all the information needed for the review, and capture feedback for future action. Using augmented reality, team members are able to visualize, interact with, and provide feedback on product designs from anywhere in the world. AR makes it possible for stakeholders to interact with a 3D model of the product, such as walking around it and viewing different states of the model—including going inside the model itself. AR also enables users to get a third-party perspective from other teammates. This particularly comes in handy when deciphering notes from a colleague, as it brings you to the point of view of the model they had when they made the comment.”—Kevin Wrenn, Divisional General Manager, PLM at PTC

5
AR Developers Will Be in Demand

"In 2018 we'll see increasing demand for developers that know how to build augmented reality and natural language processing (NLP) based experiences. A short supply of these skills will constrain enterprise efforts, and put pressure on full-stack developers, who will find it hard to stretch their talents from end to end."—Jeffrey Hammond, Vice President, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research

6
AR Will Change the Way We Communicate

"Much in the same way as the Internet evolved from a forum to share technical report to the robust network it is today, AR presents a new way of engaging with people that will change how we communicate. Because it allows for a remote presence, AR will change customer service and the way that companies interact with and serve customers. AR will also change the way we train employees."—PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann

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